Heath Ledger Died of Overdose

It is found that the actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication, and other prescription drugs, says a New York City medical examiner. The cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine. The medical examiner’s office only named the name of generic drugs, so it is unclear if Ledger took generic or brand-name drugs.

Police found six types of prescription drugs in his apartment, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medicine. It isn’t released how much of each drug was found in his blood or if one drug played a greater role than others in causing his death. None of the drugs were taken excessively but the combination of having all the different drugs in his body at the same time proved deadly.

On January 22^nd Heath Ledger was found by a masseuse in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. When she entered his bedroom to set up for the massage, she found him unresponsive. She then called his friend Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before calling 911. Ledger had been dead for a while when he was found.